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  • Punjab to Get Strict With Public Smoking Ban 

    Punjab to Get Strict With Public Smoking Ban 

    Pakistan’s Prohibition of Smoking Ordinance 2002 outlawed smoking in public, but the law was rarely enforced. The Punjab provincial government is looking to change that, however, ordering strict enforcement across the province, including in Rawalpindi. According to reports, the enforcement will be mostly centered around educational institutions, but will also include government offices, hospitals, shopping malls, and public transport. The Express Tribune reported that violators could face fines ranging from Rs1,000 to Rs100,000 ($3.60 to $360) depending on the severity of the offense.

    The provincial government directed all public institutions, especially those under the School Education Department, to appoint focal persons and trainers for tobacco control enforcement.

    “Our top priority is to protect students from tobacco use,” Commission Coordinator Syed Nazrat Ali said. “Tobacco consumption leads to throat cancer, heart disease, and lung disorders, causing over 160,000 deaths annually.” 

    “It is now mandatory for cigarette retailers to display warning notices. Selling cigarettes within 50 meters of educational institutions is strictly prohibited.” He added that designated officers have the authority to impose fines, shut down shops, and confiscate goods in case of non-compliance.

  • Geekvape Wins Red Dot Design Award

    Geekvape Wins Red Dot Design Award

    Geekvape announced that its Wenax M Starter Kit was honored with the 2025 Red Dot Design Award, recognized globally as a symbol of design excellence.

    The company said the product “stood out to the jury for its innovative modular design, sustainable materials, and user-centric features. This open POD e-cigarette redefines portable vaping with a unique combination of a 400mAh rod and a 2500mAh battery compartment, which can be used independently or together. The battery compartment not only charges the rod up to five times but also functions as a power bank for mobile devices, adding remarkable practicality for users on the go.”

    The Red Dot Design Award dates back to 2005, celebrating products that exemplify innovation, quality, and outstanding design. Each year, an expert panel of jurors evaluates thousands of submissions from around the world based on criteria such as functionality, aesthetics, sustainability, and innovation.

  • Australia: Smoking Costs Increasing Burden on Low-Income Households 

    Australia: Smoking Costs Increasing Burden on Low-Income Households 

    Disadvantaged households have higher rates of smoking, putting pressure on their household budgets, University of Queensland researchers have found. Professor Coral Gartner from UQ’s School of Public Health said reducing smoking among households in lower-income areas was important because of the enormous health and financial toll.

    “The increasing price of tobacco has assisted many households in all income groups to quit smoking,’’ Gartner said. “But for those who haven’t quit, tobacco smoking is a growing source of financial strain.

    Researchers studied household tobacco expenditure by socioeconomic status from 2006 to 2022, a period that included substantial tobacco tax increases (2010-2020). Overall average annual household tobacco expenditure decreased to A$972.70 ($603), reflecting a decrease in the number of people purchasing tobacco because of higher prices. In households that purchased tobacco, however, spending increased by A$1,092.20 to A$4,931.70 ($677 to $3,058).

    For people who continued to smoke, the increased financial burden of tobacco products meant less spending on other items such as health, food, insurance, and education.

    “Australia is a world leader in tobacco taxation and has implemented tax policy in line with levels recommended by the World Health Organization,’’ Gartner said. “However, our findings underscore the need for comprehensive policy approaches to reduce tobacco smoking in Australia through both price and non-price-related measures.”

  • Driscoll Named Interim Head of ATF

    Driscoll Named Interim Head of ATF

    Yesterday (April 9), Dan Driscoll was named interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms by the Trump administration, replacing new FBI director Kash Patel. Driscoll is expected to simultaneously run the ATF and continue with his current role as Secretary of the Army. This will be the first time the embattled agency has been placed under the Defense Department.

    According to The Guardian, Trump’s aides view the ATF and its mission with skepticism and have discussed gutting the ATF or merging it with the Drug Enforcement Administration, “another small and underfunded agency that has previously been part of the Justice Department.”

    “Patel has been running the FBI and the ATF for months, but it had proved to be overly burdensome, and Driscoll was selected to replace Patel as the interim head, as he was one of the few Senate-confirmed appointees available,” The Guardian wrote. “The decision to have the army secretary run the ATF could be the precursor to such a move or at least to dramatically reduce its size and scope. In recent weeks, ATF agents have been diverted to help with enforcing Trump’s immigration agenda.”

  • Former Tory Contender to Work for BAT

    Former Tory Contender to Work for BAT

    The Guardian reported today (April 10) that Penny Mordaunt, the former U.K. Conservative leadership contender who served in cabinet roles from defense secretary to leader of the House of Commons, has taken a job advising British American Tobacco’s (BAT) “transformation advisory group” on harm-reduction.

    Mordaunt’s new job was revealed by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, which said she should not lobby the government for two years after leaving office or advise on any public contracts.

    In its analysis, the committee said, “British American Tobacco has a significant interest in government policy and regulation and has resources focused on influencing government decisions – for example lobbying for a reduction in taxes for cigarettes, legislation on vaping and the prevention of counterfeit goods.”

    The committee said there were only limited risks associated with Mordaunt’s access to information that could help BAT given the change of government and the amount of time that had passed.

    However, it added: “Whilst you said you will not lobby, there is a risk your former role as a cabinet minister will be seen to offer British American Tobacco unfair access to and influence within government. Therefore, the committee’s advice is that you should have no direct engagement with government on behalf of the company, as to do so would raise significant risks under the government’s rules.”

    When asked about Mordaunt’s role, BAT chief corporate officer Kingsley Wheaton said, “BAT has launched a manifesto for change … it is founded on the very best tobacco harm reduction [THR] thinking and science. To accelerate that ambition, we understand alternative viewpoints that challenge our thinking will maximize success. This THR advisory board is designed to do just that.”

  • E.P. Carrillo Rebrands to Casa Carrillo

    E.P. Carrillo Rebrands to Casa Carrillo

    In 2009, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and his family opened the EPC Cigar Co., which was later changed to E.P. Carrillo. The company announced today (April 10) that it will now be called Casa Carrillo, which is also the name of its main factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

    The company said this is a rebrand, “a move that unites its U.S. headquarters, factory, and global presence under one name that reflects both its heritage and its vision for the future.”

    The company is a two-time Cigar of the Year winner by Cigar Aficionado that makes brands such as Pledge, Inch, and Encore.

  • Mixed Reactions as Malawi’s Tobacco Season Opens 

    Mixed Reactions as Malawi’s Tobacco Season Opens 

    The 2025 tobacco marketing season officially opened in Malawi’s capital of Lilongwe Wednesday (April 9), with leaf fetching between $1 and $3.20 per kg. While some farmers described the opening prices as “not so bad,” most farmers said they felt robbed, given the current high cost of living and the expenses that tobacco farming demands.

    “The offered prices are lower than what we expected,” one farmer told Xinhua in an interview, as other farmers nodded in agreement. “Everything has gone up following our currency’s devaluation, so we expected the leaf to fetch more than what we have witnessed today.”

    However, Minister of Agriculture Sam Kawale said during the opening that the tobacco marketing season has started “on a good note,” considering that the first batch of tobacco to be sold is typically of low quality.

    “The tobacco that has fetched these prices is the bottom leaf, ones close to the ground, and it is mostly disregarded in sales,” said Kawale. “If the lower leaf is fetching that much, we are hopeful that the actual leaf of good quality that is yet to be sold will fetch even more.”

    President Lazarus Chakwera presided over the opening and said, “The bottom leaf may not be the best, but I’m encouraged to see that the prices have gone up, in some cases, by more than 55 cents above the minimum price. That’s a good start.”

    Malawi is expected to increase tobacco production by 30.8% to 174 million kg this year, according to the Tobacco Commission.

  • Taiwan Checks ID Checkers 

    Taiwan Checks ID Checkers 

    An undercover survey in Taiwan showed that 26.9% of tobacco retailers did not check ID cards for buyers in school uniforms, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said. From May to November last year, the Consumers’ Foundation conducted its annual inspection by sending 20-year-old volunteers in high-school uniforms to buy cigarettes at 854 retailers across the nation.

    Officials said that 38.6% of betel nut vendors, 26.9% of general stores, 23.4% of franchised supermarkets and hypermarkets, and 21.5% of franchised convenience stores failed to check buyer ID. From 2023, noncompliance decreased 4.6% for betel nut vendors, 5.7% for general stores, and 1.4% for franchised convenience stores, but increased 4.3% for supermarket and hypermarket franchises, they said.

    The nation’s retailers were insufficiently vigilant in ensuring that clerks know and follow the law, foundation secretary-general Chen Ya-ping said. Although the noncompliance figures were down, 15% of the clerks interviewed reported not knowing that the smoking age had been raised to 20 years. High turnover in venues and inadequate employee training appeared to be the main cause of the failure to check IDs, she added.

    Last year, retailers were fined a combined NT$1.15 million ($34,846) for 134 tobacco buyer ID citations, HPA Deputy Director-General Chia Shu-li said.

  • Denver Flavor Ban to be Decided by Voters

    Denver Flavor Ban to be Decided by Voters

    In December 2024, the Denver City Council voted 11-1 to ban flavored tobacco products. Since then, a group of business owners led by Phil Guerin, the owner of Myxed Up Creations smoke shop, has been battling to have the decision on whether the ban should be enforced left to the voters.

    To push the matter to a vote, the business owners needed to collect about 9,500 signatures on a petition. Their coalition, called Citizen Power, collected more than 17,000 signatures. Today (April 10), the city declared that the petition is sufficient, but, according to Ben Warwick with Denver’s Clerk and Recorder’s Office, is waiting until a protest period ends Friday before formally notifying the city council. Warwick said it will then be up to the city council to determine the election date. The next general election is set for this November.

    “We are fighting David versus Goliath, and we are David,” said Guerin, adding that flavored products account for about half of his business. “I’ve been able to go around and talk to a lot of my competitors and bring us all under the same tent.

    “There’s already a ban for children. This is a ban on adults, and honestly, this is a ban on small, family-owned businesses. If we lost that business, it would be almost impossible to sustain after that point.”

  • Hungary’s Fight Against Illicit Cigarettes

    Hungary’s Fight Against Illicit Cigarettes

    Hungary’s National Tax and Revenue Authority (NAV) said it recorded significant successes in the fight against the illegal tobacco market last year. Major General Tamas Demeter, vice president of the authority, said 118.5 million illicit cigarettes were confiscated, three times more than the previous year. They also seized 120 tons of stolen consumer tobacco. Thieves in the tobacco-growing regions of Hungary often steal tobacco leaves just before they are to be harvested by farmers.

    In addition to illegal production, Demeter said that cigarette smuggling is also flourishing. He said border agents are becoming increasingly vigilant and are finding smuggled tobacco products in specifically modified hidden cavities of vehicles, concealed under transported goods, and even in tins of Bulgarian goat cheese. He also said smugglers are going high-tech, using man-sized drones to fly hundreds of packs of cigarettes across the border at a time.